TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
EDINBURG — The Edinburg Economedes Lady Jaguars flipped the pitch — from defense to offense — with lightning speed and turned the quick transitions into three second-half goals to handily beat Edinburg Vela 3-0 Friday night at Cats Stadium.
With a full moon and near perfect conditions, the Lady Jaguars rained a hail of shots on goal in the fist half against the stoic Lady SaberCats, but it was to no avail. It wasn’t until after intermission that Economedes was more aggressive and laser-focused.
Right after halftime, Economedes decided to get busy and forward Ayssa Ozuna wasted no time. Just two minutes after the referee’s whistle started the second half, Ozuna found the back of the net.
Just minutes later, sophomore Laura Gonzalez spearheaded a fast break, dribbled the ball past defenders and float it over the goalkeeper to increase the Lady Jaguars’ lead to 2-0 and nearly put the non-district match out of reach.
What changed at half? Big motivational speech?
“You could say that,” Economedes coach Robert Garcia said. “It’s just that we knew we had to be patient and we would score. I actually started the second with three attackers so we could get more offense up there.”
It’s not typical for the Lady Jaguars to play with three up front, but Garcia said the team needed a switch to get going. Turns out, it was just what the doctor ordered for the ailing offense.
Economedes stayed aggressive, pushing and dominating play most of the second half. It won most 50-50 balls, played solid defense in the back and was accurate with its long passes to start runs on the goal.
About the only thing they could not do is keep up with Vela’s dynamic speedster Cherylen Chavez, who had several break aways and shots on goal, but just couldn’t finish in the net.
Vela goalie Julia Flores also played well for most of the game. Vela Coach Tanya Garcia said her team was growing up and learning how to deal with the departure of so many seniors from last year.
The last goal from the Lady Jaguars came off the right foot of junior Krysta Armstrong on a spectacular free kick about 30 yards out with 15 minutes left. Armstrong, on the left hash, arched a classic bender in the right corner of the net above Flores’ reach. The goal capped the second-period resurgence started by Garcia, said Armstrong.
“Coach (Robert) Garcia gave us some inspiring words on going for the ball, working hard, staying in front of players and we took it and played it out,” Armstrong said.